RWBY - Capture the Flame
by MattHunX
Summary: I know I said Temper the Flame was a one-shot. But I just had to write this sequel. Emerald does something potentially life-threatening to get Cinder to calm down.


**Author's Note** : I know I said _Temper the Flame_ was a one-shot. But I just had to write this sequel. Emerald does something potentially life-threatening to get Cinder to calm down.

 **RWBY - Capture the Flame**

Defeat is not something everyone can handle. Not gracefully, anyway. And she had grace. At any other time, in any other situation, she was the embodiment of the word. Whether she was fighting or merely walking down the street. It was a part of her very being. There, in every fiber. Her essence. And to anyone, but a select few, who did not know any better, she seemed to exude it even now. The image they saw was perfection. The image _she_ saw, glaring back at her in the mirror, was a disappointment.

 _"Pyrrhaaaa!"_

 _'"WHAT!?"'_

It briefly disappeared, when she shut her eyes, as her mind kept returning to the same moment. The fury within her rose and she saw her own eyes glow, when she opened them, again.

"Phew! Never saw anyone kill _themselves_ with a look, before! Careful!" Came a man's voice. His overly confident tone, annoyingly friendly. His eyes were smiling with fear behind them. Already silently begging her for mercy, as his presumptuous familiarity did little to placate her.

"What do you want?" she asked him, almost through gritted teeth. Letting him know she was not in the mood for small-talk or for smooth-talk.

"Well, that _friend_ of yours wants some big meeting when you're... _done sulking_." He was making quotation marks. "Her words!" he added, raising both hands, defensively in front of himself, when he saw her eyes get a murderous glint to them. "You two aren't...related, right?" he was stupid enough to ask and was met by the same stare. "She got the same freaky thing with her eyes." he kept failing to remain silent, pointing to his eyes."O-kay...I'm just gonna..." He wisely backed out of the room without another word and headed up the hallway, not noticing that someone was behind him, farther down. If he had turned, he would have been most surprised by who he would have seen. Golden eyes stopped looking at themselves, again, as they moved to see the same person, standing in the doorway.

"Weren't you going?" she asked him with irritation.

"I...was. Buuut, I thought...I'd come back and...see if I can get your mind off of things." he talked as he moved closer. She narrowed her eyes in caution and suspicion, finding his change in tone, oddly unnerving. And...unusual. For him. She followed him through the mirror as he stood behind her and took her right hand into his. She glanced at the contact, thinking it was bold enough, yet, she found something in it that was...interesting. He let go and stepped next to her, on the left, attempting to make her turn to face him. She let him hold both her hands with his and though her face did not show any, she stood in amusement as he slowly placed them on her shoulders, as if they were dancing. Except, the last time they did he was not nearly as hesitant and it was her who rested her hands on his shoulders.

"You look nervous. Something wrong, _Mercury_?" she said his name almost mockingly.

"Yeah. I was just gonna...uh..." Mercury came into the room, probably having forgot to actually ask if his boss was ready for a meeting and froze at the sight. His boss stood, looking rather calmly at him, but at the same time, also daring him to say anything. On her shoulders were the darker hands of another woman, who was staring at him, mortified. Her red eyes afraid to even look at the other woman. Mercury held his hands up, again, turned and left, keeping them up the whole time as he strafed out the door. Hands quickly dropped as teary red eyes and flaming cheeks turned towards a pale, almost expressionless face. Half-shut, seemingly calm golden eyes regarded her, waiting for her to stop fearing for her life and string together words that would either beg forgiveness or show some backbone.

"You...you knew..." Emerald whimpered.

"You can fool the eyes and ears..." Cinder cupped her chin. "But not the _skin_." she added and Emerald's face flushed deeper. "Besides..." She turned to the mirror. "Men cannot wait to put their hands on my hips. You acted like it would burn and went for my shoulders. Like a woman. _Obviously_. Hm. Well..." She turned and started towards the door. "Some women also go for the hips." she added, with some of her usual sultriness finally returning to her voice and Emerald was all too happy to hear it and to still have her own head that she almost forgot to ask if they were even going to talk about what just happened. She walked after Cinder, staying a few careful paces behind her.

"You're not...angry?" Emerald risked asking.

"Don't think you'll get away with it!" Cinder firmly told her and Emerald winced. "I'm still not sure if I should be glad or not that you're getting braver. It's a nice change for you, Emerald." Cinder commended her for it. "But, don't get too comfortable!" she warned. "And next time, don't use Mercury's face! Suave doesn't look good on him." she told her.

"Next time?" Emerald stopped in her tracks to repeat her words and could not see the small smile that briefly graced Cinder's lips as she followed her.


End file.
